Apparatus for plugging wells.



C. E. SITZMIN..y

APPARATUS FOB PLUGGING WELLS.

, Y Y -Iily Patented July 4, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l APPLICATION FILED DEC.3`0, |915.

A TTOHNEYS mr mln uns cul. lmamnna.. wunmamn. n 6.

C. E. SITZMAN.

APPARATUS FOR PLUGGING WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30. 1915.

Patented July 4, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOHNEYS CHARLES EDWARD sIrzMAN, or TAFT, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOB. PLUGGING WELLS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented VJuly 4, 1916.

Application filed December 3), 1915. Serial No. 69,368.

To all 207mm t Imay concern: f

Be it known that I, CHARLES EDWARD SITZMAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Taft, in the county of Kern and State ofCalifornia, have invented'an Improvement in Apparatus for PluggingVells, of which the following is a specification. n

This invention is an improvement in the art of well construction andYhas particular reference to apparatus employed for plugging oil wells atthe bottom thereof.

Several causes, as for instance, water and sand entering a well casingrender 1t necessary to plug the bottom of the wellin order to stop suchingress. One method now commonly employed is to drop, by hand, into thetop of the casing the material used, such as, stone, brick, Llathecuttings, lead wool, bundles of old rope and concrete. Owing to thenature of this material 1t often becomes clogged in the well casingbefore reaching the bottom thereof, which necessitates the use ofsuitable tools to loosen the material.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above difficulties byproviding a material container made in sections, one of which is movablerelative to the other whereby to permit the contents thereof to drop outafter the container has been lowered to the bottom of the well casing,thus eliminating the possibility of the material jamming in or cloggingthe same.

Another object of the invention 1s the provision of novel means forretainingthe sections of the container in normally closed position andfor moving one of the sections relative to the other to open the same,said means consisting of a iiexible element secured at its ends to saidsections and detachably engaged, intermediate its ends, by a latchdevice mounted in fa supporting member. This latter member supports thecontainer as the same is being lowered into a well casing and is movablerelative thereto when the container is restingat the bottom of saidcasing whereby to actuate said latch device to release said flexibleelement provision of an apparatus of this char-- acter which is simplein construction, easy to manufacture, and effective in carrying out thepurpose for which it is designed.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving a variety ofmechanical expressions, some of which, for the purpose of illustratingthe invention, are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- `Figure1 is a sectional view of a well casing showing the container in closedposition as the same is being lowered thereinto. Fig. 2 is a similarview showing the container in open position to permit the material to bedeposited in the bottom of the casing. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4 1 of Fig. 1.Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section on the lineV 5--5 of Fig. 1.Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the containershowing the same in open position. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of oneembodiment of a bottom for `the container. Fig. 8 is a similar view ofanother embodiment of bottom for the container. Fig. 9 is a perspectiveview of certain details of the invention. Fig. 10V is a sectional viewshowing the manner of securing the bottomLillustrated in Fig. 8, inposition.

Referring more particularly to the draw* ings, the numeral 11 indicatesa casing usually employed in oil wells.

The construction illustrated in the draw-A ings is now believed toibe apreferred embodimentof the invention in'which the container comprisescomplementary sections 12 and 13 which formk a cylindrical body portion.For the greater portion of the length of the section 12 the same is cutawayas indicated at 111 so that said portion will be of substantiallysemi-circular formation. The

' entire length of the section 13 is semi-circular in cross section andis provided adjacent its edges with longitudinally extending guidegrooves 15 which receive enlarged edges 16 of the guide plates 17 whichare secured to the longitudinal edges of the section 12. relativelongitudinal movement between the sections of the container and in orderto afford a tight joint at the meeting ends' of said sectionsthe sameare rabbeted as indisection 13 the same is provided with a flangedyretaining or bottom supporting member 19 This construction will admit ofof substantially semi-circular formation and when the container is inclosed position the member 19 is adapted to support thereon a detachablebottom 2O clearly illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawing. rfhe bottom inthis illustration is preferably made of inexpensive cast iron since thesaine is left, together with the other material, in the bottom of thewell casing when the container is opened. The under surface of thebottom 2() is provided with a depending lug- 2l which may be grasped inorder to place said bottom in position and the upper surface thereof isprovided with an inclined rib 22 which engages between oppositelydisposed pins 23 extending from the wall of the section 13.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 3 is permanently attached to the section 13and is preferably used when concrete is employed to plug the bottom ofthc well casing. This bottom 20 is provided partially aronnd its upperedge with a flange 21 and upon its upper surface` with a reduced portion22 to pro-vide a shoulder or rest 23 engaged by the lower end of thesection 13 as shown in Fig. 10. The flange 21 and portion 22 alsoprovide a groove 24C for receiving therein the reduced end 25 of thesection 12. The bottom 20 is secured in position by means of suitablefasteners 26.

The upper end of the section l2 has secured to the interior thereof, bymeans of bolts 2e, the oppositely disposed vertically arranged arms 25having their .ipper ends enlarged to provide bearings for the eXtensions2G of the cross head 27 whereby the latter is rotatably mounted. Thecross head is provided with a central opening for receiving therein asupporting member 28 having a collar 29 adjacent its lower end adaptedto contact the lower surface of the cross head whereby the entirecontainer is supported. The upper end of the supporting member 2S isprovided with an eye 30 for receiving one end of a sand line, chain orrope 31 which is employed for the purpose of lowering and raising thecontainer in the well casing. The lower end of the member 2S has abifurcation 32 in which is eccentrically mounted a weighted latch member33 having a hook portion 311-. A. flexible element 35, such as a chain,has one end secured at 3G to the section 12 of the container and theother end secured to the section 13 at 37. l/Vhen the sections of thecontainer are in closed position the hoolr portion 34- of the latchmember 33 engages the flexible element 35 intermediate its ends so as tosupport said sections in closed position, as best shownin Figs. 3 and 4.As long as the weight of the container is exerted upon the supportingmember 28 the collar 29 will engage the cross head 27 and the strainupon the latch member 33 will retain the same in the position shown inFigs. 3 and t. However, when the container has been lowered to thebottoni of the well and rests thereon the force sufficient to retain thelatch member in its latching position will be decreased and by slightlymoving the supporting member 23 downwardly and relative to the sectionsof the container the weighted end of the latch ineinber 33 will cansethe hook portion thereofl to be detached from the chain and pernii thelatter to fall into the container.

liftingl the supporting member 2" e the sery 12 of the container may behoisted until clement 35 is straightened, as shown in 2 and 6, thuslimiting the upward inovemein of said section. As the section l2 movesupwardly the same is disengaged from the bottom 20, when the latter isemployed, and permits the same together with the rest of the material inthe container to drop to the bottom of the well casing and thas plug thesame. As previously stated, when concrete is employed for plngging thewell a detachable bottom need not be used and that shown in Fig. 8 issecured in position instead.

livlhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for plugging wells com` prising relatively movablecomplementa 1y sections portions of which are semi-circular andinterlock to form a cylindrical material container, and means for movingone of the sections relative to the other to empty the contents thereof.

2. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising relatively movablecomplementary sections portions of which are semi-circular and:interlock to form a cylindrical material container, means for movingone of the sections relative to the other to empty the contents thereof,and a latch device carried by the last-named means for releasablyretaining said sections closed.

3. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising relatively movablecomplementary sections portions of which are semi-circular and interlockto form a cylindrical material container, means for moving one of thesections relative to the other to empty the contents thereof, and aconnection between said sections for limiting said relative movement.

41. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container including`sections having relative movement, means for moving. one of the sectionsrelative to the other to empty the contents thereof, a connectionsecured to each section for limiting said relative movement, andreleasable means for actuating said connection to retain said sectionsclosed.

An appaaratus for plugging wells comprising a container includingrelatively movable sections, means for naintaining said sections inclosed position and released, by contact of one of the sections with thebottom of a well, to permit relative movement of said sections, andmeans for raising the other' section after the last-named means isreleased whereby the contents of the con-V tainer is discharged.

6. An appaiatus for plugging wells coinprisinga container includingsections having relative movement, means for moving one of the sectionsrelative to the other to empty the contents thereof, and a flexibleelement connecting said sections for limiting the relative movementthereof.

7. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising complementary sectionshaving relative movement and forming a cylindrical material container,means for moving one of the sections relative to the other to empty thecontents thereof, and a flexible element connecting said sections forlimiting the relative movement thereof.

S. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container includingsections having relative movement, means for moving 'one of the sectionsrelative to the other to empty the contents thereof, a flexible elementconnecting said sections, and a latch device releasably engaging saidelement for retaining said sections in closed position.

9. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container including`sections having relative movement, means for moving one of the sectionsrelative to the other to empty the contents thereof, a flexible elementconnecting said sections for limiting the relative movement thereof toopen position, and a latch releasably engaging said flexible element forretaining said sections in closed position.

10. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container includingrelatively movable sections, and a bottom for the container which isdetached therefrom when said secl tions are moved relatively.

11. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container includingsections having relative movement, means movable relative to saidsections for adjusting one of them relative to the other to empty thecontents thereof, and a latch device for releasably retaining saidsections in closed position and actuated by the relative movementbetween the first-named means and said sections to release the latterwhereby the same may be moved to open position.

12. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a'container includingrelatively movable sections, a bottom for the container which isdetached therefrom when said sections are moved relatively, and a flangemember for supporting said bottom while the sections are closed.

13. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a material containerincluding substantially semi-circular sections movable relative to eachother, means for adjusting one of said sections whereby to empty thecontents of said container, and means for limiting the relative movementof said sections.

14. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a material containerincluding substantially semi-circular sections movable relative to eachother, means for adjusting Aone of said sections whereby to empty thecontents of said container, and guiding means carried by one of thesections and engaging the other.

15. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising relatively movablesubstantially semi-circular sections, a latch device for releasablyretaining said sections in closed position, and means for adjusting oneof said sections relative to the other when said latch device isreleased.

16. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising relatively movablesubstantially semi-circular sections, a latch device for releasablyretaining said sections in closed position, means for adjusting one ofsaid sections relative to the other when said latch device is released,and means movable relative to one o-f said sections for releasing saidlatch means and for adjusting one of the sections relative to the otherwhereby to empty the contents of said sections.

17. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container includingsections having relative movement, means for moving one of the sectionsrelative to the other to empty the contents thereof, and a bottom forthe container adapted to detach itself therefrom when the same is openedto empty the contents.

1S. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container consisting ofcomplementary sections having relative movement, a flexible elementconnecting said sections, vertically arranged arms carried by one ofsaid sections, a cross head mounted in said arms, a supporting membermovable relative to said cross head, and a latch eccentrically connectedto said supporting member for releasably engaging said flexible elementto retain the sections in closed position, said latch being detachedfrom said flexible element when said supporting member is moved relativeto said cross head.

19. An apparatus for plugging wells comprising a container consisting ofcomplementary sections having relative movement, a flexible elementconnecting said sections, vertically arranged arms carried by one ofsaid sections, a cross head mounted in said arms, a supporting membermovable relative to said cross head, a latch eccentrically connected tosaid supporting member for releasably engaging said flexible element toretain the sections in closed position, said latch being detached fromsaid flexible element when said supporting member is moved relative tosaid cross head, and a bottom for the container.

20. An apparatus for plugging Wells comprisin(r a container consistingof complemenary sections having relative movement, a Hevible elementconnecting said sections, vertically arranged arms carried by one ofsaid sections, a cross head mounted in said arms, a supperting membermovable relative tosaid cross head, a latch eccentrically connected tosaid supporting member for releasably engaging said flexible element toretain the sections in closed position, said latch being detached fromsaid flexible element when said supporting member is moved relative tosaid cross head, and a bottom for the container adapted to detach itselftherefrom when the sections are moved to opened position.

2l. An apparatus for plugging Wells comprisinga container having adischarge opening, releasable means for closing said opening, andsupporting means for said container movable relative thereto forreleasing the first named means to permit the contents of the containerto discharge through said opening.

22. An apparatus for plugging Wells eo1nprising a container includingrelatively movable sections, a bottom supporting member carried in oneof said sections, oppositely disposed pins also carried by thelast-named section, and a bottom for the container resting on saidsupporting member and having a rib projecting between said pins when thesections of the container are closed, said bottom being detached fromits supports When the sections of the container are relatively adjustedto open or discharging posit-ion.

CHARLES EDVARD SITZMAN.

TWitnesses CHARLES DEL Bonnie, D. N. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

